It was the first time for me to get to know the Guangzhou International Biological Island (GIBI) because of the SCUT&UCB 2015 International Workshop. GIBI, which was used to be called Guanzhou Island, was isolated from the city before and only one village, the Guanzhou Village, exsited but it has been developed into a modern district containing well-developed transportation, tourism, and biological technology companies. Everything seems to be so much better. However, behind all the glamorous, this island and Guanzhou Village had suffered numerous dark night. 

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This island is located at the confluence of several shipping routes. Because of the policy, it began to be developed since 1999. Despite the inconvenient and poverty, people here loved their island and their village so much that they supported the development program but refused to move away. However, their wishes will never come true because all the residential areas on the island will only be offered to the scientists and other so called high-tech talents. In 2008, the forced demolition began. Except the overseas Chinese, everyone lost their home. Guanzhou Village, a typical Chinese water town, is gone forever.

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Except the villagers, who are still insist to stay on the island even their houses had been violently destroyed, still remember the story about how this island developed in the history and how Guanzhou Village had been vanished, no one knows or cares about what happened here anymore. In this project, I just want to deliver the story about this place and help people remember both the prosperity and the tragedy that this place had been though.

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Project Information:

Architectural Design, 2016
Individual Work
Site: Guangzhou International Biological Island, China (Former name: Guanzhou Island )